Fujitsu eases Ethernet network management

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Fujitsu has introduced a new version of its network management software that is designed specifically to support Metro Ethernet services.

The upgraded version of the NetSmart 1500 provides a set of tools fronted by a new graphical user interface (GUI). The aim is to simplify and accelerate Ethernet service provisioning, traffic engineering and service assurance by using standardized Metro Ethernet Forum terminology and default settings for commonly used MEF service attributes.

The software uniformly manages all layers of a packet optical network, integrating SONET, SDH, ROADM and connection-oriented Ethernet (COE) into a single network management application, allowing service providers to most efficiently manage their network resources from the photonics layer to the packet layer.

With the new software, Fujitsu said, route selection of COE paths becomes a point-and-click operation. Users no longer need in-depth knowledge of carrier Ethernet parameters to provision a new Ethernet service, the company said.

MEF Ethernet service attributes can be easily changed, enabling users to configure their customers’ unique Ethernet service attributes, such as bandwidth and CoS (class of service) identification.

When users need to define bandwidth and quality of service (QoS) terms, NetSmart 1500 software will implement the associated profiles across all FlashWave packet optical networking platforms, automatically accounting for the different functionality and release levels of those various elements. Automatic implementation across patterns should eliminate configuration errors.

In testing, NetSmart 1500 software fully provisioned an MEF-compliant E-Line or E-Access service in less than one minute, and troubleshooting the services takes just seconds, the company said.